My LBS is giving me a 5% in-store credit for a rebate/customer incentive plan they have. Basically I'll have $250+ to spend in-store after the purchase of my new bike. Should I take that $$ and put towards some carbon wheels? If I where to buy one wheel at a time, would it be wise to buy the rear first and install or just wait til I can afford the set to install?

5% @$250 =$5,000

So if I do the math correctly your purchasing a 5K bike and want to replace the wheels? I would doubt a bike of that caliber doesn't come with some really nice wheels.

If you race or other than yes it does make perfect sense to have a race set of wheels but otherwise I would not buy new wheels unless the wheel that come on the bike are trash.

What bike are you buying? What wheels does it come with stock?

I would probably drop the $250 on clothing or replacement parts if it were me with $250 in shop to spend.

The shop might be willing to take back the bike's OEM wheels, before they are used, for a credit and sell you the fancy wheels you really want. But if the OEM wheels don't fit into that shop's product plans... Andy

For really boutique carbon wheels, that $250 will barely be a down payment. I agree, the OEM wheels should be very high quality on a $5000 bike and I don't understand your desire to replace them. Fashion statement?

Good advice

Mis-matched wheels on a brand new bike... nope.

It's not a bad idea to have a spare set for whatever reason, but not for an upgrade, just for a backup.
If it were my money, I'd spend it on accessories or clothes.

No - SHOES. A new bike with new pedals means you should have new shoes... the ones you always wanted, but were more than you wanted to spend. The ones with the quantum buckle adjuster and Tuscan heel retention system or something.

To answer your specific second question - no, there isn't any problem with changing one wheel first, except possibly with aesthetics, like if one has a deep rim and the other not, it'll look funny to some people. But no problem functionally.

That said, I'll follow others and suggest spending the money differently. If you're happy with the pedals and shoes you're going to use with the bike, I'd consider spending the money on some nice tires and brake pads, since you're going to need to buy those eventually anyway (assuming you're putting a decent amount of miles on this $5k bike, which I hope you are). Add in some clothing items and you can easily hit $250 before you know it.

Are you not the lucky guy that is getting the Giant Defy Pro or something? If that is the case the Giant SLR carbon wheels on that bike are really good. They are a factory wheel but for the money they are pretty solid. I wouldn't give those up.

If you have to ask how to spend your money after buying a $5000 bike, you don't need a $5000 bike.

$250 is the correct amount to spend on a helmet.

For $250 you could probably get a cheap pair of generic alloy wheels for riding in bad weather. Mismatched wheels are something to avoid.

What specific bike are you asking about? What wheel upgrade are you thinking about? Carbon wheels for bikes with rim brakes are a 2 way street. You trade poorer braking for a tiny weight reduction, and maybe better looks at who knows what cost. With Disc brakes things change. You get better braking under all conditions. Yes, disc brake bikes are a tiny bit heavier, but they are better. Knowing what bike you are asking about would allow people to give better advice.

He reference a Giant Defy Pro in another thread.